Elkhart Central Spoils Warsaw's Sectional Bid
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
ELKHART -ÊThe old Pat Benetar song is called "Hit Me With Your Best Shot."
Warsaw basketball coach Al Rhodes can identify with Benetar, because he has talked early and often how teams fire up to play his Tigers.
Fort Wayne North Side. Huntington North. Marion.
Now Rhodes can add one more team to the list: Elkhart Central.
The Blue Blazers (15-7) knocked off Warsaw (18-4) 53-51 in Friday's Elkhart Central Sectional championship game. The sectional title is the second straight for Elkhart Central.
The Blue Blazers committed only six turnovers in the game and limited the Tigers, who shot 52 percent from the field this season, to 38 percent shooting (17 of 45).
Here is where Central has come from: from a one-time 6-6 record, from a 69-53 regular-season loss to Warsaw to a sectional win over Warsaw.
"The first time we played Warsaw a couple of months ago, our half-court defense absolutely stunk," Central coach Mike Drews said. "We let guys drive right by us. We let 'em lob it inside. I think we counted 28 layups they had against us the first game.
"Tonight, we shut 'em down, on the post and off the dribble penetration."
He wouldn't get an argument from Rhodes, who believed the single biggest reason for Central's sectional win was Central's defense, headed by two whirling dirvishes at the guard postion, 5-foot-7 senior guard Anthony Kyle and 5-8 senior James Scott.
The Blue Blazers thrive by converting turnovers into layups; they thrived Friday night against Warsaw by converting turnovers into layups.
"You really have to take your hat off to the defensive pressure Elkhart Central was able to put on us," Rhodes said. "Their quickness just took us two or three feet out of our attack areas. Each pass was a little longer. That led to enough steals to probably make the difference in the game.
"Their defensive pressure on our guards was more intense, and they probably mixed in more traps. Defensively, Central did a much better job than the first time."
Said Drews: "The first time we played Warsaw, they exploited a lot of our weaknesses. We learned from that game. It gave us three things we needed to improve on: rebounding, inside defense and better ball movement on half-court offense.
"We improved in those areas as the year went on."
The Tigers were faced with two other problems besides the Central guards. One, starter Ross Kesler had early foul trouble, spent much time on the bench and fouled out with 2:24 left in the game. Two, with Warsaw leading 17-12 with 6:08 left in the second quarter, starter Chris Wiggins sprained his ankle and hobbled to the sideline. He returned but scored only two points the rest of the game.
"We missed Ross in terms of his ability to drive to the basket," Rhodes said.
Starting center Justin Riley led Central with 14 points, while Kyle added 12. Tim Church scored nine, Scott eight and Brent Melvin eight.
Warsaw starting forward Steve Siebenmorgen led all scorers with 21 points. Teammate Rob Kesler added eight.
Last year, Warsaw's Luke Reed suffered an injury in the sectional. Last year, Warsaw lost to Central in the sectional.
"Two years in a row to have a sprained ankle is not something that makes us happy," Rhodes said.
The biggest lead held by either team was seven, 19-12 by Warsaw with 5:54 to go in the second quarter. But Central would charge back to tie it 24-24, the last six points fueled by, you guessed it, three steals.
Central pulled ahead 31-26 in the third quarter, but when Riley picked up his third foul with 5:32 to go in the quarter, he sat on the bench. With him out, Warsaw - namely Siebenmorgen - scored at will inside. The Tigers erased the deficit and went up 40-39.
But Central's defense did what it does best. Church came up with a steal, and Kyle released early down the court once he saw what was developing. He caught Church's pass for a layup, and the Chargers took a 41-40 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Blue Blazers started the fourth as they ended the third. Melvin stole the ball, drew a foul and hit two free throws to extend the lead to 43-40.
Warsaw went back to what worked in the third quarter, scoring inside. The Tigers stayed with the Blue Blazers and even took a 50-48 lead with 3:02 to go. Church tied the game at 50-50 with 2:46 left.
Then Central went to work on giving the game away. The Tigers just never took it.
With 2:24 left, Riley hit 1 of 2 free throws to up the Central lead to 51-50. With 1:43 left, Kyle hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 52-50. With 50 seconds left, Kyle missed both free throws to keep the lead at 52-50.
With 36 seconds left, Siebenmorgen went to the line. He made the first and missed the second, but Wiggins grabbed the offensive rebound. The Tigers trailed 52-51, but they had the ball and a chance to win the game.
Again the steal was Central's friend. Church stole the ball with 14 seconds left and was immediately fouled. He went to the free-throw line and hit 1 of 2 to make it 53-51.
With three seconds left, Siebenmorgen, Warsaw's only scorer in double-digits, took the shot to win the game, but it clanged short.
"We wanted to run a triple screen play for Wiggins, but we got scrambled up, and I can't really tell you what happened," Rhodes said.
And Central, despite hitting just 8 of 14 free throws in the last quarter, won the game.
"I die inside every time we miss one of those," Drews said. "But the kids aren't trying to miss them."
Said Rhodes: "It went down to the wire. Games like that are decided by who has the ball last.
"It was a great basketball game."
The Tigers were ranked No. 10 in the last 4A Associated Press poll.
"More than anything else, I'm proud of how our locker room is right now," Rhodes said. "All 13 cared about what we're doing. There were no pretenders on this team. Some teams go through the motions. This team didn't. They won some very important games. NLC champions. Holiday Tournament champions. They just came up short in terms of sectional champions."
ELKHART CENTRAL 53
WARSAW 51
Warsaw (18-4) 10 16 14 11 - 51
E. Central (15-7) 12 16 13 12 - 53
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
Siebenmorgen (F) 7-13 5-6 2 0 6 21
Rb. Kesler (G) 2-5 2-2 2 1 4 8
Wiggins (G) 2-11 2-2 2 0 7 7
Nelson (C) 3-9 0-1 1 0 6 6
Rs. Kesler (G) 1-3 2-2 0 0 3 4
Donkers 1-1 1-2 1 0 5 3
Barrett 1-3 0-0 1 1 1 2
Henthorn 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Seiss 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Rhodes 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 17-45 12-15 9 2 32 51
E. Central FG FT A S R Pts.
Riley (C) 4-6 6-10 0 2 9 14
Kyle (G) 5-13 1-4 2 2 1 12
Church (F) 3-3 3-5 1 4 1 9
Scott (G) 2-8 3-6 2 1 0 8
Melvin (F) 2-6 2-2 4 4 3 8
Harwell 0-0 2-2 0 0 1 2
Johnson 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0
VanNorman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 16-37 17-29 10 13 15 53
Three-point goals - Warsaw 5-15 (Rb. Kesler 2-4, Siebenmorgen 2-3, Wiggins 1-7, Barrett 0-1), Elkhart Central 4-11 (Melvin 2-2, Scott 1-6, Kyle 1-2, Johnson 0-1). Turnovers -ÊElkhart Central 6, Warsaw 14. Fouled out -ÊRs. Kesler, Riley. Total fouls - Warsaw 20, Elkhart Central 15.
Officials -ÊJerry Stieglitz, Bob Childers. [[In-content Ad]]
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ELKHART -ÊThe old Pat Benetar song is called "Hit Me With Your Best Shot."
Warsaw basketball coach Al Rhodes can identify with Benetar, because he has talked early and often how teams fire up to play his Tigers.
Fort Wayne North Side. Huntington North. Marion.
Now Rhodes can add one more team to the list: Elkhart Central.
The Blue Blazers (15-7) knocked off Warsaw (18-4) 53-51 in Friday's Elkhart Central Sectional championship game. The sectional title is the second straight for Elkhart Central.
The Blue Blazers committed only six turnovers in the game and limited the Tigers, who shot 52 percent from the field this season, to 38 percent shooting (17 of 45).
Here is where Central has come from: from a one-time 6-6 record, from a 69-53 regular-season loss to Warsaw to a sectional win over Warsaw.
"The first time we played Warsaw a couple of months ago, our half-court defense absolutely stunk," Central coach Mike Drews said. "We let guys drive right by us. We let 'em lob it inside. I think we counted 28 layups they had against us the first game.
"Tonight, we shut 'em down, on the post and off the dribble penetration."
He wouldn't get an argument from Rhodes, who believed the single biggest reason for Central's sectional win was Central's defense, headed by two whirling dirvishes at the guard postion, 5-foot-7 senior guard Anthony Kyle and 5-8 senior James Scott.
The Blue Blazers thrive by converting turnovers into layups; they thrived Friday night against Warsaw by converting turnovers into layups.
"You really have to take your hat off to the defensive pressure Elkhart Central was able to put on us," Rhodes said. "Their quickness just took us two or three feet out of our attack areas. Each pass was a little longer. That led to enough steals to probably make the difference in the game.
"Their defensive pressure on our guards was more intense, and they probably mixed in more traps. Defensively, Central did a much better job than the first time."
Said Drews: "The first time we played Warsaw, they exploited a lot of our weaknesses. We learned from that game. It gave us three things we needed to improve on: rebounding, inside defense and better ball movement on half-court offense.
"We improved in those areas as the year went on."
The Tigers were faced with two other problems besides the Central guards. One, starter Ross Kesler had early foul trouble, spent much time on the bench and fouled out with 2:24 left in the game. Two, with Warsaw leading 17-12 with 6:08 left in the second quarter, starter Chris Wiggins sprained his ankle and hobbled to the sideline. He returned but scored only two points the rest of the game.
"We missed Ross in terms of his ability to drive to the basket," Rhodes said.
Starting center Justin Riley led Central with 14 points, while Kyle added 12. Tim Church scored nine, Scott eight and Brent Melvin eight.
Warsaw starting forward Steve Siebenmorgen led all scorers with 21 points. Teammate Rob Kesler added eight.
Last year, Warsaw's Luke Reed suffered an injury in the sectional. Last year, Warsaw lost to Central in the sectional.
"Two years in a row to have a sprained ankle is not something that makes us happy," Rhodes said.
The biggest lead held by either team was seven, 19-12 by Warsaw with 5:54 to go in the second quarter. But Central would charge back to tie it 24-24, the last six points fueled by, you guessed it, three steals.
Central pulled ahead 31-26 in the third quarter, but when Riley picked up his third foul with 5:32 to go in the quarter, he sat on the bench. With him out, Warsaw - namely Siebenmorgen - scored at will inside. The Tigers erased the deficit and went up 40-39.
But Central's defense did what it does best. Church came up with a steal, and Kyle released early down the court once he saw what was developing. He caught Church's pass for a layup, and the Chargers took a 41-40 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Blue Blazers started the fourth as they ended the third. Melvin stole the ball, drew a foul and hit two free throws to extend the lead to 43-40.
Warsaw went back to what worked in the third quarter, scoring inside. The Tigers stayed with the Blue Blazers and even took a 50-48 lead with 3:02 to go. Church tied the game at 50-50 with 2:46 left.
Then Central went to work on giving the game away. The Tigers just never took it.
With 2:24 left, Riley hit 1 of 2 free throws to up the Central lead to 51-50. With 1:43 left, Kyle hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 52-50. With 50 seconds left, Kyle missed both free throws to keep the lead at 52-50.
With 36 seconds left, Siebenmorgen went to the line. He made the first and missed the second, but Wiggins grabbed the offensive rebound. The Tigers trailed 52-51, but they had the ball and a chance to win the game.
Again the steal was Central's friend. Church stole the ball with 14 seconds left and was immediately fouled. He went to the free-throw line and hit 1 of 2 to make it 53-51.
With three seconds left, Siebenmorgen, Warsaw's only scorer in double-digits, took the shot to win the game, but it clanged short.
"We wanted to run a triple screen play for Wiggins, but we got scrambled up, and I can't really tell you what happened," Rhodes said.
And Central, despite hitting just 8 of 14 free throws in the last quarter, won the game.
"I die inside every time we miss one of those," Drews said. "But the kids aren't trying to miss them."
Said Rhodes: "It went down to the wire. Games like that are decided by who has the ball last.
"It was a great basketball game."
The Tigers were ranked No. 10 in the last 4A Associated Press poll.
"More than anything else, I'm proud of how our locker room is right now," Rhodes said. "All 13 cared about what we're doing. There were no pretenders on this team. Some teams go through the motions. This team didn't. They won some very important games. NLC champions. Holiday Tournament champions. They just came up short in terms of sectional champions."
ELKHART CENTRAL 53
WARSAW 51
Warsaw (18-4) 10 16 14 11 - 51
E. Central (15-7) 12 16 13 12 - 53
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
Siebenmorgen (F) 7-13 5-6 2 0 6 21
Rb. Kesler (G) 2-5 2-2 2 1 4 8
Wiggins (G) 2-11 2-2 2 0 7 7
Nelson (C) 3-9 0-1 1 0 6 6
Rs. Kesler (G) 1-3 2-2 0 0 3 4
Donkers 1-1 1-2 1 0 5 3
Barrett 1-3 0-0 1 1 1 2
Henthorn 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Seiss 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Rhodes 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 17-45 12-15 9 2 32 51
E. Central FG FT A S R Pts.
Riley (C) 4-6 6-10 0 2 9 14
Kyle (G) 5-13 1-4 2 2 1 12
Church (F) 3-3 3-5 1 4 1 9
Scott (G) 2-8 3-6 2 1 0 8
Melvin (F) 2-6 2-2 4 4 3 8
Harwell 0-0 2-2 0 0 1 2
Johnson 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0
VanNorman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 16-37 17-29 10 13 15 53
Three-point goals - Warsaw 5-15 (Rb. Kesler 2-4, Siebenmorgen 2-3, Wiggins 1-7, Barrett 0-1), Elkhart Central 4-11 (Melvin 2-2, Scott 1-6, Kyle 1-2, Johnson 0-1). Turnovers -ÊElkhart Central 6, Warsaw 14. Fouled out -ÊRs. Kesler, Riley. Total fouls - Warsaw 20, Elkhart Central 15.
Officials -ÊJerry Stieglitz, Bob Childers. [[In-content Ad]]